January 30, 2008

Democrats could run veteran against Roskam again

A retired Army colonel has her sights set on freshman U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.), but first she must survive a Democratic primary challenge.

Jill Morgenthaler, 53, of Des Plaines said her background, which includes 30 years in the Army Reserve and service in the Iraq war, as well as her connections to the 6th Congressional District, makes her an ideal candidate.

“I think the basic values we have out here have been lost in Washington,” Morgenthaler said.Morgenthaler’s opponent in Tuesday’s Democratic primary is Stan Jagla, 45, of Roselle, a former truck driver and business consultant.

The district, which encompasses much of DuPage County and parts of Cook, leans Republican. Conservative icon Henry Hyde represented the district for 32 years. Should Morgenthaler win the primary, it would set up a contest similar to 2006, when Roskam, then a Republican state senator, defeated Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat, by just 3,000 votes.

Although Morgenthaler has lived in Des Plaines for 16 years, she currently does not live in the 6th Congressional District. Her home was drawn out of the district when boundaries were redrawn after the 2000 census. Residency is not a legal requirement to serve in the House.

Morgenthaler served in Iraq in 2004 and blogged under the heading “GI Jill’s Adventures in Baghdad.” Morgenthaler also worked as the Army’s spokeswoman during the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

Morgenthaler does not support a pullout of troops and said she believes it is likely the U.S. will have to maintain a presence of 30,000 troops because of its national interests in the region. The surge is working, she said.

“What the surge is not capable of is bringing the political solutions to Iraq. I don’t know if democracy is exportable. I think it has to be homegrown,” she said.

Morgenthaler said she views illegal immigration as a national security issue and said as much attention should be paid to the border with Canada as the border with Mexico.

“There are elements who are coming here to hurt us,” said Morgenthaler, who left her job as homeland security adviser to Gov. Rod Blagojevich to run for Congress.

Campaign finance reports show Morgenthaler raised $94,000 and lent her campaign an additional $100,000. She had $42,000 left in her campaign fund as of Jan. 16. Republican Roskam had $864,000 in his campaign fund. Jagla has yet to file a campaign disclosure form.

Jagla, a naturalized citizen from Poland, said he is running because “we need somebody who fights for the little guy.”

Although he is not a lawyer, Jagla frequently drafts and files his own civil rights complaints alleging age discrimination in employment, among other things. So many of Jagla’s self-prepared lawsuits have been dismissed that he concedes he now must submit his complaints to the chief judge for review.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

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